Swifton Athletic Club
Carlo Fantini | coach = | currentleague = League A | currentposition = | lastseason = | lastleague = League B | lastposition = 3rd (promoted via playoffs) | current = | website = | firstgame = | largestwin = | worstdefeat = | topscorer = | fansgroup = | honours = | American = }} Swifton Athletic Club (officially shortened to Swifton Athletic) is a professional football club based in Swifton, St. Gregory. The team plays in League A of the St. Gregory Football Association, having earned promotion via the 2016 playoffs. Athletic joined the newly formed League B in 1985 when they were one of six teams admitted to the SGFA as part of its first mass expansion. Athletic were League B champions in their inaugural season and despite finishing last in League A the following season and being relegated back to League B, they were once again League B champions in 1987-88 and thus hold the distinction of being the only club in St. Gregory to win two championships in their first two seasons in a league. Athletic won the 2004 SGFA Cup Final to claim their first top-flight trophy. 2015-16 saw Athletic reach both the promotion playoff final – in which they defeated arch-rivals Union Town on penalties to earn promotion to League A – and, three days later, the 2016 SGFA Cup Final which they lost 4-1 to Bonneville United. The team plays its home matches at the 16,000-seat SG Stadium. Colors, crest and nickname Athletic’s official colors are orange and purple. The orange is a reference to early Dutch exploration of the northwest of St. Gregory, while the purple is a reference to royalty as the city of Swifton is built around Crown Harbor. The crest also features a crown to reference this. The club is referred to simply as Athletic by fans and media and has no other official nickname. 'Kits' Originally, the team played in purple and orange striped shirts. While distinctive, these created a clash with many other clubs and Athletic spent virtually half their early years wearing white away kits as a result. Purple was finally dropped from the home kits in 2000 and they have remained orange and white since then. Athletic's uniforms are currently supplied by Nike. The shirt sponsor is Swifton Glass. Rivalries Athletic rivals are considered to be – and the club is considered a rival by – the other five expansion clubs who also joined the SGFA in 1985: CGC Red Stars, Crusaders, Don Bosco, Starrs County and Union Town. Of these, the rivalry with Union Town is the closest geographically (Swifton and Union are roughly 30 miles apart), while fans consider Starrs County to be the most competitive rivalry as the clubs have spent the longest in League B together. Athletic fans also consider Holland County to be rivals, as both teams are based in that county, both play in orange and support among the Dutch population of northwest St. Gregory is evenly split between the two clubs. Players 'Current squad' : As of August 15, 2016 Note: Players without a flag are from St. Gregory. Players with an asterisk (*) are from outside the United States or its territories, or have represented a non-U.S. territory at international level, but hold either citizenship or permanent residency in the U.S. and thus do not count towards the league cap on foreign players. Former players :Further information: Category:Swifton Athletic Club players Honors * SGFA Cup: 1 :2003-04 Category:Swifton Athletic Club Category:Club pages